When the vice president resigns and Ellie and Taryn’s parents emerge as the frontrunners, the girls find themselves back in the spotlight.

Ellie could not care less about becoming the Second Daughter, but she knows how much the opportunity to make history means to her mother – and women everywhere. With her family taking center stage, Ellie must decide whether she can put her feelings for Gabe on hold – again.

Taryn, so used to captivating the hearts and minds of everyone she meets, is unbothered by the increased media scrutiny. But an inopportune screw-up has her beholden to an unlikely – and unfriendly – source for help.

Overnight, Evan has skyrocketed from social pariah to Miss Popular. As she and her reluctant parents adjust to her new lifestyle, the last thing she needs is a front-page scandal.

Brinley can’t stop thinking about her Stowe-bound hook-up…until her father’s intern, Patrick, starts flirting. Is it time to abandon her fling now that she has a more appropriate suitor?

With the second highest office in the land up for grabs, everyone is picking sides. But where does the heart lie when duty, truth, and love collide?

Review:

Oh, my gosh, I don’t even know where to start with this one! I really like this series, and while I didn’t feel that Book Four was as strong a read as Book Three, it still kept me turning the pages at a frantic pace. Ellie and Taryn get some big, big news – Either of them could potentially be the Second Daughter of the good old U S of A! Yup, Ellie’s mom and Taryn’s dad are in the running to be the next VP of the US, after the current Vice President had to resign due to an illness. Nice! That means moving to bigger digs, and living life under even closer scrutiny. Yay! Sign me up! Not!

In additional to all of that competition to see who will be the next Vice President, Evan is finally living her dream. She and Hunter are an item, even though she is assailed with self-doubts. He is so far out of her social circle that it’s not even funny. She keeps wondering what he sees in her, and the stress of trying to live up to her expectations of what she thinks he thinks she should be like is exhausting. That sentence exhausted me, and I hope it made sense! Yes, here’s Evan of the humble background dating Hunter, he of the golden spoon in mouth. When Evan mistakes someone else’s jacket for hers, she opens the door to more grief than she ever expected. Who knew those innocent looking mints were anything but? And now she has a scoop that could change the outcome of the VP race, but she’s not going to spill the beans, because she’s so afraid nobody will believe a nobody like her! Oh!! Poor Evan! While the set up for this disaster was more than obvious, I still got caught up in Evan’s downfall. Just one mistake in this series and you. Are. Toast! Your social standing is GONE! At least until the next sap gets caught up in the next breaking headline.

Ellie’s got a lot of stress to deal with, too. Her mom is in a war with Gabe’s dad, not like that’s anything new, but with the stakes so high, her mom finally takes off the kid gloves. She verbally strikes out at Gabe’s mother, which he just does not appreciate. With the press sniffing around for a sensational story, Ellie has to be careful, too. She can’t let on that she and Gabe might be an item. Everything has be kept on the lowdown. Worse, their parents feuding is starting to needle into their relationship, confusing things even more. I like this pairing! It’s hard enough to be an couple when the whole world is watching your every move, but mix in your parents and their complete and utter dislike for each other? Ugh! That is one ugly time bomb waiting to explode! Will Gabe and Ellie be able to keep the love alive? Maybe we’ll find out in Book Five whether they have any chance at all of having a happy ever after. I don’t think I’m going to count on it. Sad face.

Taryn makes several major blunders here, and while I wanted to feel sorry for her, I could not. She throws one of her friends under the bus to keep her father’s chances of being the VP alive, and she starts thinking that she is just too cool for school. After her father hires Brinley’s dad to manage his PR campaign, Taryn finds herself on the receiving end of all kinds of advice she isn’t sure she needs. Brinley has been tasked to groom Taryn so that she always gives the best possible impression to the press, but Taryn chafes at being forced to act like someone she isn’t. With Brooks assuring her that she should just be herself, she makes a major misstep. It’s like she took her eyes off the pathway, tripped over her fuzzy boots, and face-planted. It’s so not good! I was disappointed that Taryn would treat a friend as poorly as she did, because of all of the girls, Taryn seemed the most level headed to me, but after suffering some major embarrassment, I didn’t want to see her meet any other disasters. Even if she deserved them and brought them on herself.

I have so much fun watching Brinley squirm! When she learns that Taryn’s dad has retained her father’s services, she is disdainful. At first. Until Brooks points out that another major loss for their father is going to have a direct reflection on how they are treated by the DC public. Ha! Then she’s like a chameleon. She is all about coaching Taryn on how not to embarrass her family and, as a direct result, reduce her father’s chance of being elected to Vice President. She is even forced to “fluff” Tayrn’s dress at a major party. Score! This horrible girl, who only thinks of herself, finally gets a taste of humble pie. Sadly, it wasn’t much of a taste, and I doubt that she has anything to take away from the experience, but it sure was fun while it lasted.

So! Did I enjoy GTA Book Four? You bet! This is such a fun read, with a varied cast of characters that I both love and HATE. Often at the same time! Everyone gets a kick in the face to keep them all honest, but they also achieve little victories to keep them, and me, coming back for more. Bring on Book 5!!